It didn"t take much longer to find where their target was. They were in Area A, and the Special Metal Company was in Area C. In a little less than 15 min, they reached the gate of the company. It was clear that the workers didn"t have any luck when the outbreak started. They enetered the premises and headed for the warehouse at the back.The Doomsday Ride got in first, followed by the Doomtrooper driving in reverse. There was just enough room for both of them in the warehouse. The SUV was last. Instead of directly starting to work, they took a break for lunch. Xiaotian and Lu volunteered to cook for everyone, while the rest relaxed a little. Liushi sent the drone on patrol around the company grounds. When the meal got ready, they joined everyone outside to eat.
"Hey brother" Zhang Hai asked Liushi, "What do you need the metal here for? I mean, with your current possessions, the only thing you should be worried about should be food."
"My truck has a micro-factory, which was used to make the drone and other things. With higher quality metals and alloys, such as t.i.tanium, I can make higher quality equipment. I can make spare mechanical parts better than the common ones" Liushi explained.
He had expected the question for a while, but it seemed they had been a bit intimidated before to ask, or just respectfully though it wasn"t their business. If it had been just the 2 guys, he would have revealed part of his ability. But with a suspicious character like Qingping around, he prefered to stay quiet until she proved herself truly trustworthy.
"The first mutant beast I encountered was a boar the size of a small truck, the mutant dog we saw yesterday was also quite large. The damage they can deal isn"t something an ordinary vehicle like your SUV can handle, even with the modification you added. We have only seen a part of what this new world is throwing at us, better get prepared for worse things."
As if to prove him right, an alarm sounded from the tablet he had taken outside with them. The others got silent and focused on Liushi as he took the device in hand. The drone had detected some movement coming their way. Looking at the video feedback, he saw a refitted hummer moving fast on the road leading to SMC. It was closely followed by several offroad vehicles and motorcycles.
He ordered the drone to keep its distance from the oncoming vehicles. At first, it looked like they would pa.s.s the SMC, but the lead vehicle suddenly slowed down as it reached the entrance of the company, before taking a sharp turn and stopped there. The following vehicles followed.
From where they were, Liushi and the rest of his group could actually hear the oncoming vehicles. They heard the tires of the hummer skid on the ground when it stopped at the entrance. Liushi frowned. All those vehicles were equipped with modified weapons, and spikes on their fronts. All the drivers were wearing welded steel helmets.
"It"s the Bleeding Wolves" Zhuying suddenly exclaimed, having watched the screen over his shoulder. "s.h.i.t! Haizi, Sun Kun, get your weapons from the SUV!"
The 2 men rushed to execute the order, even as the motorcycles riders entered the premises, slowly followed by the rest of the gang. Their SUV wouldn"t last long if a fight broke out, and it was too late to move it anywhere, the warehouse already being full.
"You know them?" Liushi asked.
"Yes. Their boss called himself Blood Wolf, and their members are on the crazy side" she replied. "We"ve met them once at Satellite Town. I heard their team"s mortality rate is high, and even their boss changed."
"The ordinary survivors in their group have to go hunt outside for mutant beast every day" Zhang Hai added in a low voice. "That"s the reason for their mortality rate, but as a result, their paranormal abilities are quite strong."
Even from affar, they could feel the ill intent coming from them. Qingping had become pale, and both Xiaotian and Lu shivered. Seeing this, Liushi sent them back into the truck, while he, Zhuying, Qingping got next to the open doors of the Doomtrooper. Zhang Hai and Sun Kun took cover at the sides of the warehouse doors.
"What else do you know about them?"
"Originally, they had 3 paranormals, but one died. The guy who just got out of the hummer is Blood Wolf, well, the new Blood Wolf since the previous one is dead."
4 people had gotten of the hummer, and among them were the 2 paranormal. The 1st was a woman in leather clothes, with curly hairs hanging over her shoulders, sungla.s.ses and boots. She was armed with a shotgun in hand, and a dagger at her hip. She lookd wild and dangerous. The other was the boss, and if Zhang Hai hadn"t pointed him, Liushi wouldn"t have guessed. He looked to be in his early 20s, an average guy in simple and casual clothes and plain gla.s.ses. He had a headset on his neck.
"They are strong, and I don"t think Sun Kun and I could even handle that woman" Zhang Hai said, with Sun Kun nodding, their faces betraying their anxiousness. "They are well armed, and have a lot of man power."
"A rare visitor" the Blood Wolf said loudly, taking 2 steps forward with his hands in his pockets. "You are Jiang Zhuying right? I had seen you in Satellite Town" he added with a gentle voice, but a vicious smile.
"What do you want?" Zhuying asked curtly.
"Jiang Zhuying, how can you ask that? Don"t you know that you"re in my warehouse right now without my permission?"
"Well, that explain the lack of zombies and corpses" Liushi though with annoyance. "We are in their territory. They probably noticed our presence due to the gates having been left open."
"The content of this warehouse doesn"t belong to you. You have no use for it either" she replied.
"It"s noone of your business wether I have use for them or not. If you want to take anything, you have to discuss with us."
"I don"t think so" Liushi said, attracting the attention to him. "If you had any claim on the place an its content, you would have left someone to guard it. You didn"t even mark the place with the symbol of your group. We don"t owe you anything for the use of this warehouse and its content."
These words made the Blood WOlf pause, and his expression turned ugly. To him, his targets were outnumbered and outgunned, he had complete advantage. Yet, an unknown, a new face who wasn"t even a paranormal, talked back to him as if they were equals. He was about to insult him when he noticed that neither Zhuying nor the other paranormals of their group seemed to mind his words. In fact, they actually let him speak on their behalf.
"... Who are you?"
"I"m Jiang Liushi, and that"s my little sister you"ve been eying. We have other things to do and other places to be, so stop wasting both of our time and tell us what is it you really want."
"Is that so? Then, Jiang Zhuying, I want you to join us."
"No, thanks."
"Jiang Zhuying" he replied, slightly surprised by her instant and deadpan answer. "You should think about it carefully. It would be a great opportunity for you. There are too many people in your team dragging you down. That guy for example, even though he is your brother, he"s still just an ordinary person..."
"An ordinary person with a good head and the proper equipment can be as valuable as a paranormal in the field" Liushi replied. "We didn"t become the dominant species on the planet because we were stronger or faster. Now, since my dear Zhuying refused your offer, I suggest you leave. The confrontation, that you seem intent on having, isn"t likely to end in your favor despite the apparent odds."
As he finished speaking, he sat down in his car keeping the door open. Zhuying and Qingping following his lead. He detached the trailer, the mechanical noise making the b.l.o.o.d.y Wolves tense. But one of them started to laugh, mocking him for hiding in the car, prompting the rest to laugh as well. Liushi turned the engine on, and warmed it up, reducing the laughter of the gang.
"You don"t seriously think you can get away from us without suffuring dearly for that" the Blood Wolf asked, bewildered and slightly unnerved by their action.
"Since you don"t want to leave us, we"re gonna carve a path through you" Liushi said. "Haizi, Sun Kun, keep any of them from entering the warehouse."
And suddenly, on top of armored car, a turret with a 3 barrels minigun sprang up. All traces of humour disappeared from the faces of the gang members, their laughter dying abruptly in their throat. Their stomach dropped at the sight of the mounted heavy weapon that no infantry wants to face. The smart ones had already scrambled to hide behind their vehicles.
While the amnutions for the 12mm gun were limited, there were enough for 5 seconds of continuous automatic fire. 1 second would be enough to seriously injure a mutant beast, if not kill with a critical shot. It only needed a split second with the mutant dog.
By firing in an arc, he would definitly take out most of them, if not seriously injure them. However, to do so would mean starting at the edge of the encirclement and ignoring the leader in the middle, giving him time to take cover. Starting in the middle means one side would have time to get cover. They may be strong, but 12mm bullets aren"t strong enough to pa.s.s through car engines. And their cars were definitly reinforced with firearm defense in mind, the drivers are obviously protected from snipers with their welded helmets.
Liushi felt his heart grow cold. Killing zombies and mutant beasts was one thing. Killing humans was another. The hybrid in the hive was a special case. Liushi didn"t want to kill humans. He knew he would be forced to at some point, but still wished it would be a long way in the future. Unfortunatly, the day had already come for him to truly stain his hands.
"A paranormal you may be, but I doubt that made you bulletproof."